


New Traditions

by vcg73



Series: Helen's Holidays [4]
Category: Glee
Genre: Christmas, Family, Fix-It, Gen, Holidays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:48:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27919999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vcg73/pseuds/vcg73
Summary: The way the Kurt and Burt part of episode 4.10 should have gone.
Relationships: Burt Hummel & Kurt Hummel
Series: Helen's Holidays [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2031145
Comments: 5
Kudos: 26





	New Traditions

This was a nightmare. A friggin’ nightmare!

Kurt sat in the chair across from his father, his face feeling stiff as it struggled to produce a smile for Dad’s sake, even though he felt like the muscles, along with his heart, had been frozen for the last hour.

First his father had showed up to spring a wonderful surprise on him, a completely unlooked-for visit on Christmas Eve, complete with a large beautiful tree, ornaments both old and new, dinner for two and a visit to Radio City Music Hall, and then sharing a cup of the traditional Hummel family Christmas Eve hot chocolate.

Kurt had been riding high on a bubble of pure happiness all day long. But then, as always seemed to happen when he dared to be too optimistic about his life, his dad had popped that beautiful bubble with four terrible words, “I have prostate cancer.”

It was like a great set-up to a joke, that somehow ended with a horrible punchline. How could this be happening? No sooner had their lives bounced back from the devastation of Burt Hummel’s heart attack two years ago, a tragic event that had ended up bringing them much closer and eventually doubling the size of their small family, than another tragedy occurred.

Right now, Kurt could not bring himself to accept that something good would come of this. At this moment, he couldn’t even fully process the news. He was simply going through the motions, humoring his dad’s forcefully happy mood and insistence on celebrating every tradition they had ever had. He recognized the tactic all too well. It was how his family always coped with bad news. Stiff upper lip. Onward and upward. Nobody pushes the Hummels around.

Not even their own bodies, evidently.

Now they were doing the old ‘one gift each before Santa brings the rest’ joke that had started with his parents before Kurt was even born. It was their oldest and dearest family tradition and Kurt did not have the heart to deny his father’s request. He handed over the gold gift bag containing the NYADA baseball cap and t-shirt that he had purchased from the student store the day he went in to fill out his enrollment papers.

Unsurprisingly, his father loved the gift, beaming happily as he replaced his current cap with the new one and held the shirt up to his chest, modeling it proudly. “You are gonna kick ass at that school,” he declared, and somehow his jolly assurance really did make Kurt feel a little better about everything.

Maybe his dad was right about early diagnosis being the key to a full recovery. After all, Kurt was making a new start next month when school began. If he could pull his life back together and start over again, just three months after he had come to New York to make what he had thought _then_ would then be the start to a new and better life, then just maybe his dad could too.

Kurt waited expectantly for some gaily wrapped box or beribboned bag to be handed to him in return. Instead, his father said, “So, my gift to you is really big. It’s too big to put under the tree.”

“Curiosity peaked,” Kurt said, his smile relaxing into something real at last.

Burt handed him a piece of paper. “You can pick it up at this address, and if you don’t like it, you can return it.”

For a long moment, Kurt just stared at him, not knowing what to think. After everything they’d already done, his dad seriously wanted him to go back out and pick up a mystery gift at, he checked the address, “Prospect Park?” he said in confusion. It wasn’t very far away, but it still seemed like a very strange place to pick up a Christmas gift. “Dad, what did you do?”

His father just smiled smugly. “It’s Christmas, kid. I can’t spoil the surprise.”

Shaking his head, Kurt gave up on getting the information the easy way. When his dad was in this mood, the only thing to be done was play along. “Are you at least going to walk me over?” he asked, going to put his heavy coat, gloves and scarf back on.

Burt sprang up like a jack-in-the-box. He’d clearly just been waiting for the invitation. “Wouldn’t miss it. Somebody has to take pictures. Another Hummel family tradition, right?”

Laughing a little, Kurt waited for his dad to get geared up against the cold and off they went.

When they reached the park, Burt waved him towards the ice rink, claiming he just wanted to stop and grab a cup of coffee from one of the vendor carts before meeting him there. Kurt wasn’t fooled a bit. He knew his dad would be ‘sneaking’ along a few feet behind him, waiting to see his face when he found this mystery gift.

He reached the surprisingly busy pavilion where dozens of outdoor skaters were happily circling the ice, laughing and smiling in the cold, crisp air. Not sure which way to look, he scanned the surrounding area. Then he heard a voice call out, “Package for Kurt Hummel!”

Kurt spun around and his face lit up with joy. “Finn?” he called back in delighted shock, seeing his broadly grinning ‘big’ brother waiting behind the twinkle-light decorated railing. He was hanging on tight, never very sure of himself on ice skates, wisely waiting for Kurt to come to him. Kurt trotted over and hugged his brother tightly across the railing. Finn hugged just as tight and patted him hard on his back. “What are you doing here?”

“Merry Christmas!” another voice called out, and Kurt turned to see Carole walking arm in arm with his beaming dad.

“Carole!” he yelled, running over to get a hug from her as well, and giving his dad another one just for good measure. “Oh my gosh, this is such a surprise!”

She looked beautiful in her gray coat, red scarf and black fuzzy hat, like a little robin all dressed up for Christmas. “We couldn’t let you spend your first New York Christmas without the whole family!” she told him with a bright grin. “Hope you have room for all of us, because getting a hotel at this time of year is pretty much impossible!”

“Of course!” he said, unable to stop smiling. Even with the bad news his dad had delivered earlier, Kurt could not stop the well of joy that had sprung up inside of him. He had needed the reminder that they weren’t alone anymore, that they had a family to help them both through whatever the world could throw at them now. “I put Dad up in Rachel’s room, and I can totally blow up the camping mattress and sleeping bag for Finn.”

The tall young man had carefully clumped his way around the railing to stand with the rest of them. “Cool, or y’know we can just share if you’ve got room. I don’t mind if you don’t, and we’ll probably be up half the night catching up anyway.”

Kurt smiled, feeling a warmth in his heart at how very far Finn Hudson had come. The boy who had once been terrified to even share the same room with a gay classmate was now completely comfortable with the prospect of sharing a bed with his brother. “Only if you promise not to turn me into your personal teddy bear like you did that night when we fell asleep watching movies.”

Finn just grinned. “No promises, bro. It’s cold tonight and you’re like a full size hot water bottle.” Looking back at the rink, he said, “Wanna skate? I’m getting pretty good!”

That, as it turned out, was a blatant lie. Finn stumbled and flailed and fell on his ass more than once, taking Kurt down with him on one spectacularly sprawling occasion that left them both stunned and breathless for a moment, then laughing hysterically the next. Finn made him giggle again when he led the way out to the center of the ice as the intercom started playing “The Skater’s Waltz” and struck a dancing pose.

“Think I still remember what you taught me before the wedding,” he said in invitation.

Kurt laughed and accepted the dance. It wasn’t nearly as easy on ice skates but he managed to get them moving in a gentle circular motion that proved close enough to a real dance to make Finn happy. He looked up and smiled when he noticed that Dad and Carole had rented some skates and were also doing a clumsy but happy interpretation of a waltz.

The four of them skated until the park closed at midnight, then they headed back to Kurt’s place with smiling, red-cheeked faces.

“Merry Christmas, kid,” Burt said, throwing an arm around his shoulders.

“Merry Christmas, Dad.”

“You like your gift?”

“It was the best one you’ve ever given me,” he said truthfully.

Burt nodded firmly. “Good, and don’t you worry too much about the future. You’re gonna do great at that school, I’m gonna kick ol’ cancer’s ass, and all four of us are gonna have the best new year any family ever had.”

Slipping an arm around his dad’s thick waist, Kurt hugged him tightly. “I’m going to hold you to that.”

“Hey,” he said, lifting his elbow and putting Kurt in a pretend head-lock for a second, tugging at him playfully. “When have I ever broken a promise I made on Christmas?”

Kurt smiled. “Never.”

“That’s right, and I’m not startin’ now. This is your time to shine, Kurt. Yours and Finn’s both, and I know you’ll both do just great. Don’t let this thing with me drag you down. I’m gonna be fine, and I got Carole to make sure I eat right and do everything the doctors tell me to do.”

Kurt sighed, the sound a mingling of worry and relief. “You better.”

“I will,” he said, and somehow this time Kurt believed that just maybe things really would turn out okay.

The End


End file.
